WNIA question

[JustPastBuffalo]

This thread's a hoot! From observations on a woman's legs (and teeth... yeesh!), from exposed RF lines to Webcor recorders and "Be Big, be a Builder." John Jarrett gets major points for remembering the text of one of those "Be Big" PSA's about the "Pyramids of Egypt..." that WNIA used to run. Didn't Gordon Brown voice a few of those gems?

For better or worse, I never got past the front door at 2900 Genesee Street for an audition. Miss Mary might not have like my shoulder length hair, attitude or smirky wise-ass smile. Who knows. A friend of mine was Tommy Thomas (#253, I think) and that's how I got a chance to check out the luxurious WNIA studios and equipment. What a lovely dump that I would have enjoyed playing in.

Thankfully, Danny McBride gave me a (first) job working weekends at WBNY 96.1, which had a big 50kW signal (listened to by about 137 people who loved hearing songs by the Hollyridge Strings and Robert Goulet, and audiophile who like to test their Sansui stereos.

Jeff's post reminded me that Tom Talbot also owned WBNY. Jeff nailed the WNIA power: 500 Day, 250 Night and not a bad signal, considering. Mr. Talbot apparently was a Southern Gentleman or his wife was a Southern Belle. She had a particular distaste for all songs by a particular female artist. As a result, that artist was verbotten and all of her jazz-big band-torch songs were purged from the library. However, because this particular female artist was quite the talented singer, guys like Ken Ruof and others with considerably more cache, brought their own copies in a played them. This would set off a burst of memos and a frenzy to check the music library for albums that may have been overlooked.

WBNY had cart machines (two R/P Stereo Spotmasters, with clunky clutches) in the control room, pretty good microphones, a couple of "salami slicin'" Maggies (nice touch, Al) and a Gates Stereo Yard board. None of this made ME sound any better, but at least it was a start, which lead to bigger things, like working for Stan Jasinski's WMMJ, which also had (RCA) cart machines (no clutches), bigger boards, a better production studio and plenty of free parking in the middle of the farmlands of Lancaster. Ironic, those farmlands are now filled with housing developments and lots of families who probably wonder what "those ugly towers are doing in their backyards." Good thing Stan got there first.

_________________________________________________
No link to my blog, lest some posters get offended.

 

[Savage]

Ironic that we're doing measurement radials on the big 1230 during this thread. So I'm close in to WECK yesterday, about 5 miles away with the FIM-41, when I suddenly realize: they're running HD! Tuning CHSC, I can null out IBOC "saddlebags" coming from 1230. Y'all have pushed shopping carts farther than WECK-HD gets out; it's hilarious. Also in about 4 hours of listening via FIM I never heard any on-air mention of HD Radio.

Best wishes to Dick on his new acquisition. How about this for a positioner: be big.....be a....never mind.

 

[VoiceGuyJack]

Somwhere along the line the conversation switched from NIA to the old BNY-FM. So if we are now discussing old FM...is there any one out there who has any memories of WADV? I had the pleasure of working for Dan and Nancy Lesniak prior to my stint at WEBR and I must say they were the nicest folks I ever had the pleasure to work for.

To the best of my knowledge, I am the lone surviving on air talent from that era.

 

[Nick Seneca]

So if we are now discussing old FM...is there any one out there who has any memories of WADV?

As a radio-obsessed 11-year old, I begged my parents to buy an FM stereo radio so I could hear all these mysterious stations whose call letters I'd seen in the TV Topics station list. When it finally arrived, (around '63, I think), WADV was on in the house a lot. Even as a kid, I loved the music. Names I recall are Gary Deeb, Lee Zimmerman, Bernie Sandler, and Wally Wasik, who, of course, went on to become better known as David R. Snow. Ken Ruof was great! Wonderful voice, perfect for the format. Didn't Dick Spaulding work there for awhile? I recall being so enchanted by stereo that I'd just sit in front of the speakers reveling in the sound.

Also recall the early incarnation of that anomalous curiosity of the FM band known as WBLK. Let's see, country in AM drive with Ron Kitson, R & B at night with The Hound, top-40 in the afternoon with some guy who used Bill Justis' "Raunchy" as his theme song, and polkas along the way, too. Also recall hearing a very youthful Ray Marks on 93.7.

Of course, tons of automated beautiful music in mono all over the place on WBUF, WEBR-FM, WBEN-FM, WHLD-FM, and the Northeast Radio Network on WBIV. (no crickets or lapping waves, tho'

Nick Seneca

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Hey Al,

I think you are still with the Buffalo Broadcast Pioneers aren't ya? The stuff the guys here are talking about should be in a book that the BBP should put together. I know that I'd buy a copy, I'm enjoying the thread.

I was confined to AM so I would be interested in early Buffalo FM too. I do remember around 1965 hearing Classical music on WBEN-FM and top 40 on WYSL-FM. A neighbor's Dad had a nice new GE portable AM-FM.

What did WGR-FM do in the days before "The Q"?

Remember when FM started getting popular and stations had to squeeze more studio space for the FM's that had been closet automated operations? Some had little more than closet studios. Now it's not uncommon to have 5 or 6 stations in one building. How times have changed!

 

[cee]

What did WGR-FM do in the days before "The Q"?

When I got my first AM/FM radio in 1967(8th grade parochial school graduation present), WGR-FM was doing some sort of beautiful music format(I don't think they had any announcers, but my memory is a bit foggy). About 4 years later, they switched to what I recall as being a Drake Chenault Top 40 format and maybe a year or so later went to the Super Q format..JJ Jordon was their 1st PD? I do recall listening to the Q on Christmas night, 1973 as Joey Reynolds was in town for the holidays and was doing a special one night show...at the end of the show, he played a new song by Harry Chapin...WOLD.

 

[Bob1370]

"I do recall listening to the Q on Christmas night, 1973 as Joey Reynolds was in town for the holidays and was doing a special one night show...at the end of the show, he played a new song by Harry Chapin...WOLD."

That song was inspired by a conversation Chapin had, a short time before recording it, with Jim Connors, who IIRC was morning man at the old WYSL/1400 in Buffalo at the time, in between stints at WMEX in Boston, and later held down mornings at the old WROC/1280 in Rochester. Talented guy, well-liked, resume as long as your arm as you'd expect from a true radio nomad. He's been gone 20 years now (passed away in his late '40s back in 1987) but I think his son may be living in the Buffalo area and working in media or advertising.

 

[alw]

Jim Connors (JC) also held the P.D. job at WROC.

He once offered me a job doing evenings there. I was about to go for it when it slipped out that the station would be going on strike in 3 weeks.

"Do you have a problem with that?", he says!

"Ah Yeah", I says!
I opted out!

Jim Connors-the younger-works at WNED, for the education- TV channel "ThinkBright"
(Time-Warner 21).

 

[Call Me Sherlock]

Seems to remember that Randy Michaels worked part time at the Super Q (WGRQ) early under the name "Chuck Stevens'. Not the same Chuck Stevens later heard on WBUF-FM in the 80s.

Maybe some of you longtime Buffalo guys can confirm Michaels presence at the "Q".

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

...Maybe some of you longtime Buffalo guys can confirm...

Hey, whataya mean by that?

Affirmative. "Randy Michaels" on one end of the building (WGR), "Chuck Stevens" on the other (WGRQewwwwww!) Sounded great on both bands.

---

Now time to get back to the production room.

 

[Savage]

Calling CQ.....anybody on the channel:

I've got to be in Cheektowaga this weekend doing the close-in radial measurements for WNIA....ooops, WECK, for our 1220 application. Can anyone confirm that the 1230 Tx is still at 1200 Genesee Street?

If not, can you say where it's at these days?

My database sez the station is a full 1kw now, not 500w as in the old WNIA daze?

Thanks in advance for your help.

RCS, WYSL

 

[Nick Seneca]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the address is 2900 Genesee.

Nick Seneca

 

[average_listener]

Calling CQ.....anybody on the channel:

I've got to be in Cheektowaga this weekend doing the close-in radial measurements for WNIA....ooops, WECK, for our 1220 application. Can anyone confirm that the 1230 Tx is still at 1200 Genesee Street?

If not, can you say where it's at these days?

My database sez the station is a full 1kw now, not 500w as in the old WNIA daze?

Thanks in advance for your help.

RCS, WYSL

Bob,

It was still there when I passed by this morning. 1KW now, with a modified antenna (what would you call it, a folded dipole?).

aL

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the address is 2900 Genesee.

Roger that, Nick: 29 Hundred Genesee Street, Cheektowaga 14225

42° 55' 27" N, 78° 46' 41" W

Google Maps

It's just west of Union Road and east of Harlem Road. The cemetary is still in the back 40. Send those postcards to Melody Corner... and remember, Be Big, Be A Bowler!

 

[Savage]

If it's the way it was when I last saw it - back during Uncle Stan's stewardship - it's a shunt-fed antenna.

(Disclaimer: if you're allergic to engineering pedantics, you may now tune out. We'll be back to the WNIA hits in just a couple of paragraphs.)

The tower is grounded (instead of standing on insulators) and the correct resonant point is found somewhere on the vertical elevation to attach the feedline. This can be done using a REALLY patient tower climber or an engineer hoisted on a bosun's chair. Finding the right point is time-consuming; it's cut-and-try.

The advantage is, no groundscreen (with attendant savings in real estate as the tower can be located very close to the transmitter building.) The disadvantage is usually shunt-fed systems aren't as efficient as the typical series-excited tower, so the radiated field at a given distance, like 1km, tends to be less.

You've gotta hand it to GPB - talk about a historically "challenged" facility: (a) graveyarder, (b) with less-than-max-permitted power, (c) into a shunt-fed system. It's amazing he didn't have to put out lawn chairs at 2900 Genesee for the listeners.

"And now....back to the WNIA of old! Be big, be a builder! Here's your cue-burned fave - 'A Question of Temperature, by Balloon Farm!!' Here, let me wow it in for ya here on Malady Corner!!"

 

[alw]

Here's an off-air name that should ring a bell for those of us who spent time at WNIA, WWOL & elsewhere:

Walt Williams

any takers?

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Bob, the WECK tower was re-worked a few years ago by CBS. It's now a folded unipole and puts out quite a sweet 1kW signal. Years ago when the format was Standards, I thought WECK's audio was some of the cleanest I've heard on AM. Not quite CKLW or CHUM circa '72, but quite nice nonetheless.

-Jim

 

[Savage]

Quite true, Jim - this from a guy who has spent three days listening to WECK, all the way from south of Pike (in scenic, cow-filled Wyoming County) through Wethersfield, up thru Genesee, Niagara and Orleans Counties. Our last end-of-radial measurement was this afternoon at Point Breeze on the Lake.

Dick Greene's got himself a very impressive stick there. WECK's got to be one of the nicest-sounding graveyarders (literally in this case!!) out there.

"A graveyarder in a graveyard!" Haw, haw, haw. Sometimes I just KILL 'em.

Okay, enough of the "crypt-ic" comments....the situation is "grave" enuf.

 

[MediaBoy4Radio]

Dear Voice Guy Jack

Dear Voice Guy Jack,

I worked with you at WADV and I was hired by Ed Little for WBNY-FM 96.1..........

I am still alive.

Thank you.

Ken (Harris) Kiedrowski

 

[Savage]

Re: WECK - I meant to say "Chet" (Musialowski) not "Stan" as in Jasinski.

Oh well......at least I didn't say, Wardinski. Or Shelandusky. (Are Shelly Brand Meat Products still around?)